Alf Bellis
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Alfred Bellis[1] | ||
Date of birth | [1] | 8 October 1920||
Place of birth | Liverpool, England[1] | ||
Date of death | 28 April 2013[2] | (aged 92)||
Height | 5 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1.74 m)[3] | ||
Position(s) |
Outside left | ||
Youth career | |||
Shell Juniors | |||
Burnell's Ironworks | |||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
1938–1948 | Port Vale | 82 | (18) |
1948–1951 | Bury | 95 | (18) |
1951–1953 | Swansea Town | 41 | (11) |
1953–1954 | Chesterfield | 13 | (3) |
Rhyl Athletic | |||
Colwyn Bay | |||
Penmaenmawr | |||
*Club domestic league appearances and goals |
Alfred Bellis (8 October 1920 – 28 April 2013) was an English
Career
Bellis was working as a laboratory assistant at
He was the Vale's top-scorer for the 1944–45 season with 10 goals and, despite also guesting for Luton Town, was a regular in the side.[1] He scored 12 goals in 43 games in 1946–47, as the Football League Third Division South continued following an eight-season break.[1] He hit four goals in 18 games in 1947–48, before he was traded to Bury in exchange for Walter Keeley and a 'substantial fee' in January 1948 by manager Gordon Hodgson.[1] He played 158 games (84 in the Football League) and scored 46 goals (18 in the football league).[1]
At the end of the 1947–48 season, Norman Bullock's "Shakers" avoided relegation out of the Second Division by one place and five points. They reached 12th in the league in 1948–49 and then finished 18th in 1949–50, before avoiding the drop by one place and two points in 1950–51 under the stewardship of John McNeill. After 95 league games, Bellis then left Gigg Lane and switched to league rivals Swansea Town, who posted 19th and 11th-place finishes in 1951–52 and 1952–53 under the stewardship of Billy McCandless. He left the "Swans" after two years at Vetch Field, and played for Chesterfield in the 1953–54 campaign, helping them to finish sixth in the Third Division North. He featured in just 13 league games for Teddy Davison's "Spireites", and departed Saltergate for stays with Welsh non-League sides Rhyl Athletic, Colwyn Bay and Penmaenmawr. He later worked in a factory.[2]
Personal life
He married Ellen and had three daughters: Ann Ridell, Kate Meere and Norma J Bellis who is currently a Kent County tennis player.[2]
Career statistics
Source:[4]
Club | Season | Division | League | FA Cup | Other | Total | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
Port Vale | 1937–38 | Third Division North | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
1938–39 | Third Division South | 26 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 31 | 3 | |
1939–40 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | ||
1945–46 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 3 | ||
1946–47 | Third Division South | 38 | 10 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 43 | 12 | |
1947–48 | Third Division South | 17 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 4 | |
Total | 82 | 18 | 14 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 201 | 23 | ||
Bury | 1947–48 | Second Division | 17 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 4 |
1948–49 | Second Division | 27 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 28 | 6 | |
1949–50 | Second Division | 34 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 37 | 7 | |
1950–51 | Second Division | 17 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 3 | |
Total | 95 | 18 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 100 | 20 | ||
Swansea Town | 1951–52 | Second Division | 37 | 11 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 40 | 12 |
1952–53 | Second Division | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | |
Total | 41 | 11 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 44 | 12 | ||
Chesterfield | 1953–54 | Third Division North | 13 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 3 |
Career total | 231 | 50 | 22 | 8 | 5 | 0 | 258 | 58 |
References
- ^ ISBN 0-9529152-0-0.
- ^ a b c d e f Parsons, Chris. "Former player passes away". port-vale.co.uk. Retrieved 5 June 2013.
- ^ "The lure of promotion. Bury". Athletic News. Manchester. 13 August 1923. p. 6.
- ^ Alf Bellis at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)